Not feeling well
by kerorolover16
Summary: Donatello isn't feeling like himself latly. Can he count on his brothers and sensei to help his back on his feet? set in the 2012 universe. First story so don't bash.
1. Chapter 1

Not feeling well

The four turtles sat in the living room of the lair soon after finishing training. Each was occupied with their own activities. Mikey sat 2 inches away from the T.V. screen melting whaevert brain cells he had left with video games, Leo was mercessly beating the punching bag, Raph was playing his arcade game with his pet turtle spike on his shoulder, and Donnie of all people appeared to be asleep on the couch.

"Gah!" Raph shouted in anger, shoving back the arcade game. "Stupid game…"

Raph stormed over to the couch to wear Donnie lay passed out. He narrowed his eyes and tapped his younger brother's foot.

"Hey. Move yer feet." He growled.

Donnie's eyes fluttered open as he did as he was told, immediately closing his eyes again afterwards. Raph plopped down on the couch as Leo shot him an annoyed glare.  
"Y'know, you could have sat somewhere else."

"I could've, but Spike insisted that we sit here." Raph shot back with a grin. "Besides, he should sleep in his room rather than hog the couch.

Leo walked down to Raph about to lose his patients. "The couch is huge, Raph." He raised his arm and gestured to the rest of the couch. "Donnie sleeping there isn't gonna make much of a difference."

"Why is he sleeping on the couch anyways?" Mikey asked not taking his eyes off his game. "It's hard as a rock."

Raph grinned again. "I don't know, Mikey. Why don't you ask him yourself?" Raph then picked up a nearby pillow and threw it at the sleeping braniac.

Don shot up as soon as the pillow hit him. After he saw what it was though, he merely picked it up and placed it under his head as he laid back down to face the cushions.

Raph laughed as Leo aggravated with him. "Raph! Knock it off!" He commanded.

Raph stood up to look his brother strait in the eye. "Are you gonna make me?" He snapped.

"Maybe I will!" Leo answered clenching his fists.

"Guys, knock it off!" Mikey said knowing this wouldn't end well if it continued.

"STAY OUT OF THIS, MIKEY!" The two older brothers yelled simultaneously.

"Hey, don't tell me what to do!" Mikey snapped.

"Or else what?" Raph questioned.

"Or else-"Mikey didn't have time to finish before another voice entered the argument.,

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" Donnie yelled before laying back against his pillow.

The brothers froze. It was rare for Donnie to yell, especially as loud as he did just then. Leo and Mikey had concerned looks on their faces but Raph looked as if he was about to explode with anger. Before he could release that anger tough, he was interrupted by their sensei Splinter walking into the room to examine the situation.

"My sons," He said sounding calm "what seems to be the problem?"

"Leo and Raph keep trying to boss me around!" Mikey started.

"Raph kept messing with Donnie while he was trying to sleep on the couch!" Leo added.

"Only because he's taking up all the room!" Raph snapped.

"The couch is huge! Sit somewhere else!"

"Don't tell me where I can and can't sit!"

Splinter raised his paw signaling the brothers to silence, which they did.

"My sons stop this behavior immediately. You're acting like children."

Leo looked down at the floor. "We're sorry, sensei…"

"I'm not!" Raph snapped.

Splinter shot a glare at Raph before speaking. "Raphael, your brother is trying to rest, I'll ask you to respect that."

Raph eyes narrowed. "Why can't he "rest" in his room instead of using up the couch?!"

Splinters glare deepened as he came closer to Raphael. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe he isn't feeling well?" He questioned.

Raph hesitated before answering. "Well…no, but-"

Splinter again raised his paw before Raph could finish. He then walked over to Donatello who was still lying on the couch. Splinter leaned over and placed a paw on his shoulder.

"Donatello." He said shaking him slightly.

"Mmm…" Donatello mumbled as he narrowed his eyes in annoyance while keeping them closed.

Splinter shook him a little harder and continued. "Are you feeling alright, my son?"

"Mm-fine…" Donnie answered hoping he could go back to sleep if he did.

"Are you lying to me?" Splinter questioned raising an eyebrow.

"No…" Donnie said in between a yawn.

"Hmm…" Splinter placed a paw on Donatello's forehead. It felt hot and moist from sweat. "You don't feel fine."

"Mm-alright, sensei…" Donatello opened his eyes slightly but merely stared at the back of the couch. "…'just tired…"

"Oh really?" Splinter stood up and crossed his arms.

"Mmhmm…" Donnie mumbled closing his eyes again unable to keep them open any longer.

"Donatello, I will not have you lying about your health to me." Splinter's tone changed as he became irritated with his son's lying to his face. "Now, I'll ask you again. Are you feeling alright?"

Donatello was silent for a moment, causing his brothers to think he had fallen asleep again, until he finally replied. "Not really…"

Splinter nodded his head slightly. "I thought so." He turned to his other sons." Leonardo, go get your brother some blankets."

"Y-yes, Sensei." Leo rushed out of the room to do as he was told.

He went to Donatello's room and grabbed his blanket off his bed and rushed back to the living room. Splinter had laid Donatello on his back and was using a wash cloth to wipe the sweat off Donatello's forehead. Donatello's breathing soft and raspy as he slept. Leonardo handed his sensei the blanket.

"Thank you, Leonardo." Splinter said taking the blanket.

Splinter placed the blanket on Donatello and tucked in the sides. Leo felt awkward just standing there so he decided to start a conversation.

"Where did Mikey and Raph go?" He asked watching Donnie sleep.

"They went to their rooms." Splinter answered.

"So early?" Leo raised an eye brow. "Why?"

"I told them that after their recent behavior, training will begin early tomorrow." He looked up to Leo. "That goes for you too."

"Yes, Sensei…" Leo looked down at the floor feeling ashamed. "How's Donnie?"

"I'm not sure yet, we'll just let him rest and hope for the best."

Leo nodded and looked down at his brother again. He was sleeping peacefully, but his skin was turning pale. He felt Splinter's paw on his shoulder as his sensei smiled up at him.

"Get some rest, my son. I assure you Donatello will be alright."

Leo smiled and nodded. "Goodnight, Sensei."

"Goodnight, Leonardo."

Leonardo left for his room. After he had gone, Splinter stood up and looked down at Donatello. He pale skin was glistening with perspiration. He placed his paw on Donatello's head.

"Sleep well, my son." He only hoped what he had told Leonardo was true.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, the turtles found that Splinter was serious about the early morning training. Splinter had forced his sons (minus Donatello) to wake 2a.m. to begin training. None of the turtles were able to get much sleep due to the events of the previous night, so training that early was sere torture.

The training went on for hours before the turtles were finally allowed a break.

"Use your break time wisely." Splinter warned. "I aspect you to be wide awake when you come back."

All three turtle's sighed with relief. Leo then glared at Raphael, ready to give him a piece of his mind.

"Thanks a lot, Raph." He growled.

Raph turned to Leo, his eyes filled with rage. "What's **that **supposed to mean?"

"It means that this is all your fault!" Leo pointed an accusing figure to him.

"My fault?!" Raph bellowed. "How is this my fault?!"

"If you hadn't been messin' with Donnie-"Leo was then cut off by Mikey.

"C'mon, guys, knock it off!" He said stepping in-between his bickering brothers. "Master Splinter will give us even more training if you keep this up."

Leo sighed. "I never thought I'd say this, but Mikey's right…"

"HEY!" Mikey said pouting.

"Never mind, Mikey." Leo placed his hand on Mikey's shoulder. "Let's just go enjoy what break time we have."

"I don't know about you, but I'm takin' a nap." Mikey said with a yawn.

"Don't count on nappin' on the couch," Raph pointed out. "Don's probably still passed out there."

"Let it go, Raph." Leo said walking out of the room.

Raph growled but followed soon after. Just as Raph had predicted, Donatello was still sleeping in the same spot they had left him last night. A wash cloth rested on his fore head. His head was supported by several pillows and his breathing was heavy and raspy.

Leo's stomach did a flip. Don's skin had turned even paler then it was when he went to bed the night before. That was never a good sign.

"How can anybody sleep this long?!" Mikey questioned.

"You should know, you do it on a daily basis." Raph joked.

"You want me to show you how I do it?" Mikey said raising a fist.

"Oh, you're on!" Raph said pouncing on his little brother laughing all the way. Leo rolled his eyes and smiled as he shook his head.

'_Well, at least they're getting along…sort of…" _Leo thought.

He walked over to the couch and kneeled down next to his brother. He placed a hand on Don's shoulder as his little brother let out a small groan as his eyes fluttered open.

"Did I wake you?" Leo asked.

Donnie put on a small smile at the sound of his older brother's voice. "A little bit..."

Leo chuckled nervously. "Sorry…"

"S'okay…" Donnie mumbled trying to sit up until Leo pushed him back down.

"Take it easy, Donnie." He told him as he straightened his blanket. "I think it's best for you to just lay down for a while."

Donnie groaned again, this time in frustration. "That's all I've been doing since last night…"

"I know, but just trust me on this one…"

Donnie let out a sigh as he laid his head back down on the pillows and closed his eyes for a second. He opened them again and looked up at his brother.

"Leo?" He whimpered.

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong with me?"

Leo swallowed, unsure how to respond. He looked down at Donnie's big brown glassy innocent looking eyes as his stomach did another flip.

"I…I don't know, Donnie. Just get some rest, ok?"

Donnie smiled slightly and closed his eyes again, soon after slipping back into a deep sleep. Leo turned back to his two other brothers. Raph laughed as he had Mikey pinned to the ground on his face as Mikey desperately tried to tap out.

"Uncle! UNCLE! **UNCLE!**" Mikey shouted, which only made Raph laugh harder.

"Alright, Raph, that's enough." Said Leo. "Get off Mikey."

"In a minuet," Raph said with a triumphant grin. "I'm almost done."

"**OW!**" Mikey yelled as Raph used his foot to smash Mikey's head deeper into the floor.

"Raphael! Michelangelo!" The three turtle froze at the sound of their sensei's voice entering the room. "Stop your foolishness! Your brother is resting."

Raphael quickly got off of Mikey who quickly stood up. "Sorry, Sensei…" they both said.

"Hmm…" Splinter hummed as he replaced the wash cloth on Donatello's fore head with a new one. He looked over to his eldest son. "Leonardo, go get the thermometer from the kitchen, please."

"Hai, Sensei." Leo nodded to Splinter before rushing out of the room to the kitchen. He scowered through the cabinets until he found the thermometer and brought it back to the living room. Splinter placed a paw on Leo's shoulder.

"I have business to attend to, so I'll let you do the honors." Splinter said with a wink.

He then left the room leaving his son dumb founded. '_Thanks a lot, Sensei…_' He thought, knowing getting Donatello to let him take his temperature would in no way be easy.

He knelt down next to Donnie and shook his shoulder slightly. "Donnie, wake up for a sec."

Donnie groaned as a response. Leo rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile.

"C'mon, Donnie, I need to take your temperature."

Donnie merely groaned again and turned his head away from Leo.

"Ugh…must you **always** be so stubborn?"

"Yes..." Donnie said with a voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey guys!" A familiar feminine voice shouted from across the lair.

Leo smiled as an idea popped into his head. "Oh, hi **April**."

Donnie's eyes snapped open as soon as he heard that name. His face became red, though this time it wasn't from the fever.

"What are you guys up to? I tried calling but you didn't pick up." April asked.

"Sorry, we got a little side tracked." Leo pointed his thumb down at Donatello.

April gasped at the sight of the sick Donatello. "Aw, poor guy! Is he okay?"

"I don't know." Leo said with a shrug. "He won't let me take his temperature."

"Why not?"

"Beats me." Leo held the thermometer to April. "Maybe you should try."

"Alright, alright, **fine!**" Donnie said sitting up slightly. "Give it here!" Donnie out stretched his hand as Leo handed him the thermometer.

Donatello placed it under his tongue and handed it back to Leo after it beeped.

"There, now leave me alone." Donnie growled laying back down and closing his eyes.

April looked over to Leo. "What does it say?"

Leo looked down at the thermometer with his eyes knit in a worried matter. "Let's just say it's not good…"

April looked down at Donatello, who already appeared to have passed out again. She quickly looked back to Leo. "Will he be ok?"

Leo hesitated before answering. "I don't know…"


	3. Chapter 3

The following week Donnie mostly stayed in on the couch and was rarely wake longer than a few minutes at a time. With each day, Donnie got a little worse. Each day his skin would get a little paler, his breathing would get a little heavier, and his fever would get a little higher.

Due to the fact that no one knew what illness Donnie was suffering from, Splinter called off all training until Donnie was fully recovered. The three remaining turtles helped Donnie whenever they could, hoping their brother would soon be able to train together again.

April came over often, constantly asking about Donnie's condition. Too bad he was never awake when she was there. That is until one day he managed to stay awake long enough to witness one of her visits.

Mikey was sitting next to Donnie who was lying on his side gazing at the T.V. with barley opened eyes. He wasn't watching it as much as he was engaging Mikey in small talk. It was the first time Mikey and him had talked since Donnie fallen ill. Even though Donnie's voice was barely louder than a whisper, Mikey enjoyed spending quality time with his brother.

That was around the time April showed up for her daily visit.

"Hey, guys! You here?" She called.

"Yeah, c'mon in." Leo called from the kitchen.

April entered the kitchen and immediately asked, "How's Donnie?"

"Still alive." Leo joked. "He was awake talkin' to Mikey last time I saw him."

"Do you think I could talk to him?" April asked.

Leo looked to April and smiled. "I think he's like that."

April smiled and made her way to the living room. Just like Leo said, Mikey was sitting on the couch talking to Donnie. She walked around the couch and as soon as Mikey saw her, his trademark smile spread across his face. He opened his mouth to say 'hi' but Donnie's voice cut him off.

"Hey April…" Donnie said with his eyes closed.

Both Mikey and April looked down at Donnie and raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you know it was me?" April asked with a smile.

Donnie cracked a smile. "Lucky guess…"

Mikey had a grin spreading from ear to ear. "I'll leave you two alone for a while." He joked getting up to leave.

Donnie's face turned red as April giggled. She leaded down next to Don who kept his eyes closed.

"So, how ya feeling?" She asked.

Donnie smiled slightly again. "I've been better…"

"I bet." She said with a smile.

Donnie let out a yawn and opened his eyes a slit. They were unfocussed and he wasn't really looking at anything. April's smile disappeared

"You're not looking very good, Donnie…"

"Mm- alright…" Don mumbled. "…worse things have happened."

April raised an eyebrow. "I find that hard to believe."

"You'd be surprised…one time, Mikey got sick and he threw up all over my laptop…" Donnie chuckled slightly.

April giggled even though the story left an unpleasant picture in her head. Things were silent for a while until April placed her hand on Donnie's forehead, causing him to blush wildly.

"Jeez, Donnie…" She pulled her hand away. "You're burring up really bad."

Donnie shrugged and closed his eyes again. "Ya get use t it after a while…"

April placed her hand on Donnie's head and stroked his forehead with her thumb. Donnie blushed again but quickly became drowsy again. He fell asleep soon after. April smiled as she stood up to leave. On her way out she saw Leo.

"How's he doing?" He asked with some pills in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

"He was feeling hat but then he fell asleep." She answered.

Leo sighed. "Then I guess I got these out for nothing…"

April shrugged. "I'm gonna head out, let me know if he gets better."

Leo watched April as she left then turned to walk to the couch. Just as April said, Don was sleeping peacefully despite his heavy raspy breathing. Leo placed his hand on his younger brother's head.

"Oh, Donnie…" He sighed. "What Am I gonna do with you…"

Later that night, all four brothers were sitting together in the living room watching movies. Leo sat next to Donnie who's have opened unfocussed eyes again gazed at the T.V. Master Splinter entered later to join his sons. He gazed down to his third youngest son, happy to see that his son was awake finally.

"My son, how do you feel?" He asked.

"Mm-fine…" Donnie whispered tiredly.

"Hmm." Splinter hummed as he sat down next to his sons.

"SHH!" Mikey snapped. "This is the best part!"

Raph narrowed his eyes "Then be quite!" He shouted as he threw a pillow at the back of his little brother's head.

"HEY!" Mikey yelled as he whirled around and shot Raph a glare.

"Shh! This is the best part." Raph mocked.

Mikey prepared to yell at Raph until Splinter's voice entered the argument. "Enough, Michelangelo." He warned.

"But-"

Splinter raised his paw before Mikey had time to argue. Instead he turned back to the screen and pouted. Donnie chuckled a bit causing Leo to crack a smile.

"We missed the best part…" Mikey muttered as he crossed his arms.

"That's why God gave us the rewind button." Leo grinned as he threw the remote to Mikey.

Mikey smiled as he hit rewind button, then he hit it again, and again, and again…

"Nice work, Leo." Raph joked as Mikey continued to repeatedly hit the rewind button watching his favorite scene over and over again.

"Alright, Mikey, that's enough." Leo said.

"Just one more time!" Mikey demanded.

Mikey, despite his demand, continued to watch the scene several more times until Raph finally stood up and ripped the remote from Mikey's hand.

"You've gone mad with power, my dear brother." Raph snickered.

"HEY! GIVE IT BACK!" Mikey yelled.

"Come and get it." Raph grinned as he held the remote above his head.

Mikey pounced onto Raph sending him flying over the couch, and the epic battle for the remote began. Leo bursted out laughing and even Splinter found himself laughing a bit himself. Raph and Mikey climbed over each other trying to claim possession of the remote.

The only one who didn't seem to been enjoying himself was Donatello. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He knew what the usually meant, and he wasn't looking forward to it. He tried to control his breathing, hoping to make the pain go away. Another sharp pain in Don's stomach made him shoot up into a sitting position, clutching his stomach.

Leo stopped laughing and turned to his brother. His face showed extreme pain. His teeth were clenched and his eyes were shut tight.

"Don? What's wrong?" Leo asked as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Donnie felt something come up in his throat. "I…I feel sick…" Donnie then shot up from the couch for the first time in over a week, and raced for the bathroom.

Leo sat in silence as he heard his other two brothers continuing to wrestle, not even paying attention to what had just happened. Leo turned to his Sensei who gave him a nod, knowing what he was going to say. Leo nodded too as he stood up and raced to the bathroom after his brother.

He reached the door and heard Donnie vomiting, gaging, and heaving followed by a couple of flushes of the toilet. Leo quietly opened the door so he wouldn't scare Donnie.

Don was hunched over the toilet continuing to vomit uncontrollably. "Oh, Donnie boy…" Leo knelt down next to his brother.

Donnie finally flushed the toilet one last time but continued to hang his head over the toilet trying to catch his breath. A chocked sob escaped him before he was able to keep it down.

Leo couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped his arms around his little brother and let him continue to sob into his chest. Donnie wrapped his arms around Leo's waist and held on for dear life. Leo rubbed the back of Donnie's head as he whispered to him trying to comfort. "Calm down, Donnie. You're alright. Everything's gonna be okay…"

He had given this speech to his brothers before but this time he wasn't sure whether or not he was telling the truth this time. He looked down at his brother who was wailing into his chest. He felt the edges of his mask getting wet. Was he crying?

He'd never seen Donnie cry like that before. He had cried many times before, but never like this.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at his Sensei who was standing above him. Leo sat silently for a second and then leaned into Splinter letting tears roll down his cheeks. Splinter placed his paw on his son's head as he realized that this wasn't going to go away on its own. Donatello needed help, and he needed it **now**.


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry for the long wait, I had stuff to do. Maybe this will make up for it, but not likely XD and for those who were wondering, yes I do use spell check before uploading chapters. It just doesn't always pick up all my many mistakes. I also proof read but, clearly, that doesn't seem to help either. CURSE YOU A.D.D!_

Later that night, Donnie's crying had turned into silent sobs, and he refused to lift his head from Leo's chest. Splinter had left to inform Mikey and Raph about what had happened, but Leo and Donnie stayed positioned on the floor. Donnie still had a tight grip on Leo's mid-section, as Leo was still rubbing the back of Donnie's head.

"L-Leo?" Donnie whispered in a shaky voice.

"What is it, Donnie?" Leo said, trying his best to keep his voice steady and calm.

"Leo…I'm scared…" Don whimpered.

Leo felt a stone drop in his stomach. He looked down at his little brother still snuggled in his chest. His eyes were shut tightly as if he was still crying, even though his tears had run dry long before. Leo pulled Donnie a little closer.

"It's alright Donnie boy," That was a nickname for Donnie that hadn't been used since they were little. "It's okay to be scared sometimes…" Leo swallowed. "…I should know…"

Donnie shifted himself to look up at his brother and raised an eye brow. "What do you mean?"

Leo didn't look at Donnie this time, instead he looked forward. "I get scared sometimes too…"

Donnie placed his head back on Leo's chest and smiled. "I find that hard to believe…"

Leo smiled too, but his smile disappeared when the silence focused on Don's heavy raspy breathing.

"Are you gonna be sick again?"

Donnie shook his head.

"Can you stand up?"

"Maybe…" Donnie pulled away from his brother and attempted to get on his feet, but that would prove to be easier said than done. Donnie's legs began to wobble so Leo threw one on Donnie's arms over his shoulder.

"Thanks…" Donnie said with a weak smile.

Leo walked his brother back to his resting place on the couch and laid him down where Don immediately closed his eyes. Raph, Mikey and Splinter looked on with worry. Mikey came over to stand next to Leo and Donnie.

"Man…" He started. "He looks **terrible**!"

"I can still hear you Mikey…" Donnie groaned.

"Oops…sorry Don…" Mikey grinned awkwardly.

Donnie couldn't find the energy to answer, so he merely sighed.

Raph stood on the far side of the room with his arms crossed. Sick brother or not, he didn't need the others thinking he was going. Yet, you could see the concern in his eyes. If everyone wasn't crowding Donnie, maybe it would be different.

Leo lifted Don's head slightly and placed a pillow underneath. After he put the wash cloth that had fallen on the floor back on Don's forehead, he took a moment to examine Donatello. He was struggling to keep his eyes open, and his face was beginning to turn as white as the pillow his head was resting on. Leo knelt down next to the couch and placed his hand on Don's forehead, using all his strength to not immediately pulling it away due to the heat emitting from it. Don smiled slightly and looked up at his older brother placing his hand on his. Leo smiled too, but it was a sad smile.

Mikey knelt next to Leo. "Leo?" Mikey whispered so Don couldn't hear (not that he was really listening anyway) "what are we gonna do?"

Leo looked over to Mikey. He had his famous puppy dog eyes and for once wasn't using them to get something. Leo hesitated before answering.

"I…I don't know Mikey…"

Mikey looked down at the floor, disappointed. Leo placed a reassuring hand on Mikey's should.

"It's okay, Mikey." Leo forced Mikey to look up at him. "Donnie is going to be fine."

"Promise?" Mikey sniffed.

Leo smiled and nodded. "Promise."

Mikey smiled too. Splinter walked over to his sons.

"My sons, I believe that it would be best if you all went to bed early tonight. It's imperative you all remain in good health."

All three turtles nodded as Leo and Mikey rose off the floor. As they made their way to their rooms, Raphael was stopped by Splinter.

"Raphael, before you go, would you mind getting your brother some blankets?" He said with a small smirk.

"But-"Before Raph could continue to protest, Splinter gave him a deadly glare. Raphael lowered his head. "Hai, Sensei…"

"I thought so." Splinter smiled making his way to his room.

Raph sighed and turned to his brother who appeared to be asleep. He grabbed a few blankets off the end of the couch and knelt down next to his brother. He made sure no one was looking and tucked in his brother, who continued to shiver. As he stood up to leave but he jumped when he felt a hand grab his wrist. He looked down at his little brother who had a tight grip on him.

"Raph…?" Don's voice was hoarse and quiet.

"What?"

"Could you…stay for a while…?"

Raph's eyes widened. "Uh…sure Donnie, scoot over."

Raph looked again to see if anyone was looking before lifting Don's torso and sitting down placing Donnie's head on his thigh.

"Tell anybody about this and your dead." Raph grumbled.

Don grinned. "I won't…"

"Hmm…" Raph hummed as he placed his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"Who won the remote…?" Don asked.

Raph chuckled. "Me, of course. Mikey was close though, until Splinter came in."

"Hmm…" Donnie smiled but then let out a huge yawn, causing Raph to chuckled again.

"Tired?"

"Mm-hmm…" Don hummed with another yawn. "a little bit…"

"I don't see how, you sleep 99% of the day." Raph said with smirk.

"Sorry to be a burden…"

Raph froze. He looked down to his younger brother on his leg. His pale face showed no expression but his eyes said enough. He could barley keep them open and they almost appeared lifeless.

Raph sighed. "You're not a burden, Donnie, don't talk like that…"

Donnie smiled and finally closed his eyes. "Thanks, Raph…" With that, Don drifted off to sleep.

"Don? Donnie? Aw, crud…" Raph leaned his head back again and groaned.

"Nice to see you taking interest in your brother." A voice said from across the room.

Raph's head shot up as he saw his sensei stand a few feet away from him.

"I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't do that…" Raph said placing his head back

Splinter smiled and raised an eye brow. "I want you to know I appreciate you caring for your brother."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Don't get used to it…"

"I wasn't planning on it." Splinter replied.

Raph chuckled and continued to stare up at the ceiling. He thought for a couple seconds before speaking up.

"Hey, Sensei?" He asks without lifting his head.

"Yes?"  
Raph hesitated thinking over his question on last time before finally speaking again. "Do ya think Donnie's gonna be alright?

Splinter smiled warmly. "Do not worry, my son, Donatello is much stronger than he appears."

Raph simply shrugged. "Whatever you say, Sensei…"

Splinter smiled again and shook his head slightly. He turned around to walk to his room until he heard his son's voice over his shoulder.

"Sensei?"

Splinter looked over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"Could you…um…not tell the other to about this?"

Splinter grinned and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Raphael. Your secret is safe with me." He raised an eye brow. "But I can't say the same for Donatello."

Raph watched his Sensei walk out of the room and then down to his brother. He was sleeping peacefully while using Raph's leg as a pillow. Raph cracked a smile and placed his head back and closed his eyes. For a while, he listened to the uneven pattern of Don's breathing. He opened his eyes only to find them incredibly heavy. He let a yawn and debated whether to get up or not.

On one hand he could go to his room and avoid the mocking he was sure to get from his brothers the next morning, but on the other hand he could simply let Don continue to sleep on his leg and sleep on the uncomfortable couch in an even more uncomfortable sitting position. With another yawn he closed his eyes and let his sleepiness make that decision for him.


	5. Chapter 5

Within a few days, Don finally had enough strength to sit up, but he still had to use his arm to support his head. A bucket was held on standby in case he ever got sick again, which he did. But now that Don was able to sit up, it was hard to actually tell he was awake or not anymore. It would often lead to the other family members talking to Don for an extended period of time before realizing that he had fallen asleep in the upright position.

Due to the fact Donatello couldn't keep down solids very well, he diet mostly consisted of soup and lots of liquids. One day as Leo was bringing Don some soup Mikey had made, he let out a sigh as he saw Don sitting with his laptop opened on his lap.

"Don," Leo placed his free hand on his hip. "What do you think you're doing?"

Don flinched slightly at the sound of his older brother's voice but remained silent.

"I'm waiting."

"Working…" Don croaked before clearing his throat. "I need to catch up on my projects."

Leo shook his head, placed the soup down, and pulled up Don's laptop from his lap. "What you need is rest."

Donnie groaned and placed his head back. Leo smiled and picked the soup up.

"C'mon, Mikey made soup."

Donnie made a face. "Again?" He pouted.

"I know, I know, just bear with it a little longer."

Don sighed and took the bowl from Leo and hesitated before taking a spoonful.

"There, I ate, can I have my laptop back now?"

Leo raised an eye ridge and smiled. "No, after you eat, you're laying back down."

Don groaned. "But Leo, I feel fine." He whined.

"Tell that to Raph, he had to clean your barf bucket an hour ago." Leo placed a hand on Don's forehead. "And you'll still hot."

"Hmpf…" Don grumbled going back to his soup. A few spoonfuls he handed the bowl back to Leo and lay back down on the couch wrapping himself in his blanket.

Leo noticed how little Don ate. "You done already?"

Donnie nodded and closed his eye. "Tired…"

Leo smiled. "Told ya so…" Leo knelt down next to his brother and fixed his blankets.

"Whatever you say…" Donnie smiled.

Leo stood up and walked back around to his brother and took off his mask. Don opened his eyes and looked up at his brother confused.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"You won't need this for sleeping." Leo said with a smile.

Don merely shrugged and closed his eyes again. Leo fiddled with Don's mask that was soaked in sweat. He made a face but then looked down at his little brother. Asleep, of course, this caused him to smile. He saw Raph enter the room from the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Raph." He called motioning him over to his direction.

Raph walked over to him. "What?"

Leo picked up Donnie's laptop and handed it to Raph. "When Don wakes up, keep this away from him."

Don's eyelids opened only to have them feel like they were being held down with boulders. He yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"It's alive…ALIVE!" Don looked up to see Mikey on the other end with his trade mark grin as he bursted into laughter.

Don smiled too and continued to rub his eyes. "What time is it?" He said with a yawn. "Better yet, what day is it?"

"9:00am and Thursday." Mikey answered.

Don groaned, considering it was Wednesday morning when he fell asleep.

"Ya hungry bro? I can make ya a sandwich." Mikey asked.

Before Don could answer, his stomach made a dying whale sound.

"Le stomach has spoken!" Mikey said in the corniest French accent ever.

As Mikey left to make the sandwich, Don looked around for his laptop. He sighed in defeat realizing that Leo probably took it knowing that Don would try using it. He rubbed his temples for a while until he felt something going across his face, which he realized was someone putting on his mask for him. After it was on, he turned to see Raph with a slight smirk on his face.

"I was told to return that to you." He said crossing his arms.

Don grinned. "Could you also return my laptop to me?"

Raph chuckled and shook his head. "No can do, leaders orders." Raph pointed his thumb to Leo standing at the far end of the room smiling and waving to Don, who shot him a glare.

"Lunch is served!" Mikey announced walking into the room and handing Don the plate with the sandwich. Leo's smile faded.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked joining his brothers.

"Probably not, but I'm hungry." Don said taking the plate from Mikey.

"Eat slowly, Donatello." Splinter said entering the room. "You mustn't upset your stomach any further."

"Hai sensei…" Don said taking a small bite of the sandwich. A smile spread across his face. He was grateful to eat something solid for a change.

"How's it sittin'?" Raph asked.

"So far so good." Donnie said taking another bite.

"You're welcome." Mikey said standing triumphant.

"I'm getting the bucket just in case." Leo said walking out to get the bucket.

"Aw, c'mon! My cooking isn't that bad!" Mikey joked following close behind.

Don smiled and continued to munch on his sandwich.

"Have a nice power nap?" Raph asked from the far side of the couch.

"Mm-hmm." Don replied in mid bite of his lunch.

"Slow down there, tiger. Sensei said to eat that slowly." Raph reminded him.

"Sensei didn't eat nothing but soup for nearly a week strait." Don retorted.

Raph just rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the T.V. After Don's sandwich was gone, laid back do and also gazed at the T.V. Leo and Mikey returned shortly after. Leo placed the bucket in front of Don, and patted his shoulders before going to sit down, causing Donnie to smile.

After about an hour, Don's vision began to blot. He wasn't able to make out anything he tried to focus on. He tried blinking to make it go away, but that seemed to only make it worse, as he head began to hurt.

'This can't end well.' He thought to himself.

The light emanating from the T.V. began to hurt his eyes, so he shut them and tried to go to sleep, praying that the situation he was in didn't end the way he thought it was going to. His plans were proven unsuccessful after 30 minutes of his headache growing more unbearable. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach something beginning to rise in his throat.

'Oh no,' He thought. 'Oh nonononononononononono…'

He tried to keep it down, but it was too late. He leaned over the side of the couch, grabbed the bucket, and threw up what little food that was left in his stomach.

After he was done, he took a few seconds to catch his breath, his entire body was shaking. He jumped a little when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked up to see his younger brother Mikey smiling down at him. He smiled in return.

"Hey…" He croaked.

"Hey. You alright?" Mikey asked rubbing his brother's shell.

Don nodded and laid back down. "Yeah…it was just a migraine."

"Aw, that's no fun." Mikey joked.

Don chuckled. "Where're Leo and Raph?"

"Asleep." Mikey nodded to his other two brothers who had fallen asleep while watching T.V. Leo was leaning up against Raph which cased Don to smile. "They passed out about an hour ago."

"Lucky…" Donnie grumbled, making Mikey laugh.

"Hang tight, bro. I go get something for you head. "Mikey bended over to pick up the barf bucket and disappeared into the other room.

Unfortunately, this left Don plenty of time to focus on his throbbing head. The pain made it feel as if a million tiny axes were being lodged into his skull. He felt his eyes starting to water and soon tear rolled down his cheeks. He quickly rubbed them away when he heard Mikey coming back.

He knelt down next to Don and handed him some pills and a glass of water.

"Here, this should help." He said still smiling.

Don smiled too and took the pills and water. After he had swallowed them he drank the water and handed the empty glass back to Mikey.

"Thanks…"

"No prob." Mikey patted his shoulder. "Get some sleep, that headache should be gone tomorrow."

"Could you turn off the T.V.? It's hurting my eyes."

"Sure." Mikey found the remote and turned off the T.V. Don sighed with relief and almost immediately fell asleep.

Mikey smiled and yawned. He started to head to his room when his T phone went off. Leo and Raph stirred up until they were fully awake. The quickly realized the position they were in and instantly pulled away from each other.

"That never happened." Raph established.

"Agreed." Leo nodded.

"Sorry…" Mikey chuckled nervously and pointed to his T phone. "…forgot to turn it off…"

"Well answer it before you wake up Don." Raph snapped rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Oh, uh, right!" Mikey answered the call and place the phone to his head. "Hello, party king of awesomeness speaking."

"Hey, Mikey. It's April." April said from the other line.

"APRIL! What u-"

Before he could continue, he was shushed loudly by his brothers. He glanced over at Donnie, who merely groaned slightly.

"Whew! Sorry, so what's up April."

Leo and Raph watch as Mikey as he listened to April talk for a while. When he finally hung up, both brothers stood up to confront him.

"Well, what'd she say?" Leo asked.

"Well…she said she's got good news and bad news…"

_**Whew! I got it done! This chapter is probably the longest one yet! The Last part was based on one of the experiences I've had with my migraines :'( I got my first on when I was 12…during school…at the beginning of the day. Life's a bitch. Well, now that we got the bonding with each brother and most of the filler out of the way, we can get into what exactly they're going to do the help Donnie. Will he make it? Of course he will, I'm not killing my favorite turtle…or am I? DUN DUN DUN! :D Let me know what you think, am I getting better with my typos?**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Guess who decided to start posting again. I'm so pissed it took me longer than my goal of a month to get this done but ironically, I've come done with an illness of my own. It sucks big time. But despite my sickness, I've mustered what energy I have left into writing this chapter. Considering how cloudy my head is right now, this chapter may not be very good (story and grammar wise) but I'll try my best. Hopefully I feel better by the time it's time to post again. Enjoy~**

The three brothers waited impatiently for the arrival of April, claiming she might have a solution for Donatello's ailment. While his brothers were having mini panic attacks as time kept ticking by, Don merely snoozed quietly on what was now declared his spot on the couch considering how long he had been laying there while being sick. Raphael was the most impatient out of all of them. He violently tapped his foot repeatedly on the floor. It was the only thing keeping him from going insane while waiting for April.

Leo, on the other hand, was about to go insane from Raph's constant foot tapping.

"Will you knock it off?!" He snapped.

Raph eyes narrowed but he continued to tap his foot, much to his brother's annoyance. Mikey sat on the far side of the couch, engrossing himself in a comic to take his mind off the situation. It was working up until the point where his brother started up an argument…again.

"Raph, please," Leo pleaded, trying to be the bigger person…er…turtle, "enough with the foot tapping. You're going to drive me insane."

Raph stopped tapping his foot and shot a glare at his older brother. "Well I'm gonna go insane if April doesn't hurry up!"

"Well I'm gonna go insane if I don't find out how this issue ends!" Mikey complained.

"And I'm going to go insane you guys don't shut up!" Don mumbled stirring out of his sleep.

All three brothers flinched at Donatello's tone. "Sorry Donnie…" They all mumbled under their breath, their voices riddled with guilt.

Don merely grinned and let out a yawn. "When's April gonna get here…" He asked in a dry voice.

Leo sighed. "Boy is that the million dollar question…" He glanced up at the clock.

Donnie groaned and snuggled deeper into his pillow. Leo looked down at him and frowned. He hated seeing any of his brothers this miserable. He knelt down next to his brother and placed a hand on Don's shoulder.

"You okay, Donnie?" Leo rubbed his hand up and down the length of Donnie's arm.

"Define okay…" He muttered.

"Do you feel any better?"

Donnie opened his eyes partially but was unable to look his brother in the eye.

"Dunno…"

Leo sighed. Not the answer he was looking for. He squeezed Donnie's arm lightly.

"Don't worry Don, you'll be fine."

"I think we both know that's a lie." Don whispered.

Leo narrowed his eyes. "Don't start talking like that."

Donatello blinked and looked up at his brother. Leo's breath got caught in his throat. Donnie's eyes were foggy and unfocused but he still managed to shoot Leo a glare of annoyance. They stared each other down for a second before Leo let out a sigh and stood up. Donnie merely grinned, believing he had won that argument.

"Guys! I'm here!" Everyone bolted up at the sound of April's voice

Raph whirled around in the direction of her voice. She was carrying plastic bags at each of her sides.

"Where have you been?! We nearly had a heart attack waitin' for you!" He snapped

"Sorry, the pharmacy was crowded!" She snapped right back.

"Pharmacy?" Leo asked. "What were you doing there?"

"Well…that's where the good news and bad news comes in."

"Spill it." Raph demanded.

"Well the bad news is I think I figured out what's wrong with Donnie." She said setting the bags down next to the couch.

"How is that bad news?" Mikey asked.

"Because from what I could gather, it's a very rare virus and there's no vaccination, not that we could get a hold of it anyway. I've been researching the last week and-"

"You knew what was wrong for a week and you didn't bother to tell us?!" Raph cut her off. He would have yelled more but Don reached out and grabbed his wrist. Raph looked down at his brother and sighed before backing off.

"Hey, I do have a life outside of you guys y'know."

"We know, just please tell us next time, **if** there's a next time." Leo stepped in.

"I know, sorry." April answered.

"Yeah, yeah, all is forgiven and stuff like that; can you please get on with the good news?" Raph nearly shouted.

April glared at him. "Well since you asked so nicely, I've got some stuff that might help."

April reached down into down of the bags and pulled out several bottles and tiny boxes. She handed them to Leo, allowing him to read the lables.

"Tums, Ibuprofen, Tylenol… what is all this stuff?" He asked fiddling the bottles in his hands.

"Well, they're no cure, but they might help." April answered as she sorted through the rest of the bottles.

"What's all this stuff supposed to do?" Mikey asked taking on of the bottles from Leo.

"Well this one helps with…" April was cut off by her T-phone going off in her pocket. "Ugh! Just a second, guys." She groaned as she pulled it out.

She read the text on the screen and groaned again. "I've got to go, I'll come back later." She began to walk out but turned around for one last goodbye. "Get to feeling better soon, Donnie!"

"No promises…" he mumbled to himself, causing his brothers to chuckle slightly.

"Wait!" Leo yelled after her. "What about these?" He lifted up one of the bottles.

"Just read the directions on the sides." April yelled back just before running out.

Leo sighed. "Thanks a lot…"

Leo looked down at the various bottles in his hands. Each had different purposes and each had different amounts to take. All were way different than the medicine they had used in the past.

"Mikey, go, uh, get some water…" Leo shooed away his brother keeping his eyes and the bottles.

Mikey rushed out of the room and Raph followed feeling he had nothing more to do in the living room. Leo scanned over the directions completely right as Mikey had returned with the glass. Now came the hard part…

It was no secret that Don had become more irritable since he had become sick. He had turn into a completely different turtle, and Leo knew that getting him to take all those pills would be no easy task. He glanced over to his brothers who must have been thinking the same thing because they quickly shook their heads and made their way out of the room. Leo sighed.

"Thanks guys…" He mumbled.

He turned towards the couch and found his brother lightly snoozing, which only made his situation all the more difficult. Even a peace loving nerd like Donnie was dangerous if aggravated enough. He set the glass down, knelt down next to his brother and shook him lightly.

Don let out a sleepy/annoyed groan and turned away from the disturbance. Leo rolled his eyes and tried again.

"C'mon Don, I don't like this anymore than you do."

"Wanna bet?" Don snapped weakly.

"Come on, Don, just take these and you'll feel better in no-"

"Since when do you care?!" Donnie cut him off and sat up shooting him a glare.

Leo froze. What did Donnie just say to him?

"What?"

Donnie didn't answer, but instead laid back down. "Just go away."

"No," Leo turned Don over and forced him to look at him. "what did you just say?"

Donnie narrowed his eyes avoiding his brother's gaze and remained silent. So Leo answered form.

"Why would you think we wouldn't care?! Of course we care! We've been with you this whole time-"

"What about before?!" Donnie retorted sitting up again. "You never paid any attention to me before unless you wanted something! And even then I never received a word of thanks!"

Leo blinked. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Donnie, little brother who never complained about anything, was suddenly claiming that no one cared about him.

"Why do I nearly have to die to have you guys remember that I exist?!" The anger in Donnie's voice was dying down and was being replaced by sorrow.

Leo was brought back to reality from his thoughts to see his brother staring at the floor. Leo's heart fell. He was supposed to be the big brother that was supposed to be a role model for his brothers, how could he let his little brother think this way?

"Donnie…how could you think we didn't care about you?" Leo said grabbing Don's shoulders.

"That's the message I get from you guys half the time…" Don mumbled.

"Oh, Donnie…no…" Leo pulled in his brother for a hug. "don't ever think like that again…"

Don sniffed. "Not sure if I can…"

Leo squeezed his brother tighter, fighting back tears of his own. "Please try…" he rested his head on the top of Don's head.

After sitting in that position for a while, Leo finally pulled away and forced Donnie to look up at him. He used his thumb to stop a tear before it could roll down his cheek.

"You okay know?" He asked.

Don paused before shaking his head. Leo sighed.

"Will you take the pills now?"

"Tired…"

"Just take a couple and you can sleep, okay?"

Don groaned slightly. "Whatever…"

Leo smiled and grabbed one of the bottles, skimming over the directions again.

Splinter stood at the far side of the room after hearing the conversation between his sons. He sighed and closed his eyes. How could he not sense Donatello felling of neglection? Never the less, he would have to worry about that later, right now he need to focus on getting Donatello back to feeling like himself, thus bringing his family back together. He already lost one of his children before, he wasn't about to lose another one.

**Hooray I'm not a failure…completely… So yeah I still feel like shit so this chapter probably sucks but I did my best. Please don't kill me, I'm already dying XD let me know what u think. I love reviews :3**


	7. Chapter 7

**Guess who feels better :3 its great not being sick anymore but now I don't have an excuse for my failures XD I never get tired of those jokes, they always get a laugh. Well, anyway NEW CHAPTER TIEM! - that ones on purpose. I can't seem to shake my bad grammar :( Ah well read on, my fellow geeks. Enjoy~**

"Get those pills out of my face unless you really don't enjoy your fingers…" Don spat. He didn't need to open his eyes to know that Leo was giving him his pills just like he had the previous days at the same time.

Leo sighed. "C'mon, Donnie. Quit being stubborn."

"That's not in my contract…" Donnie joked, yet still sounded irritated.

"Well that contract expired, now just take the pills!" Leo groaned

"Why bother?" Raph questioned with his eyes glued on the T.V. "He hasn't gotten better."

"I never thought I'd say this, but thank you Raph." Donnie mumbled. Raph smiled lightly.

"You're not helping." Leo snapped at Raph.

"He's sure helping me." Donnie grinned.

Leo turned back to Donnie. "And you keep your mouth shut."

"Then I guess I can't take those pills then now can I?"

Leo faceplamed. He slid his hand down his face and pointed at Don. "Don't get smart with me."

"That's like telling Mikey not to enjoy Pizza." Don retorted.

"He's got a point." Mikey said with his signature grin posted on his face.

Leo rubbed his temples. "Are you are guy naturally prone to annoy me."

"Depends, do you like it?" Mikey asked.

"No…"

"Then yes, yes it is." Raph said cutting back in.

Leo groaned. "Never mind, back to dealing with you." He pointed to Donnie.

"Of all times to remember my existence…"

"C'mon, Don, they can't taste that bad." Mikey said trying his luck.

"Yes they can. I swear those humans have no idea what fruit tastes like!" Donnie opened his eyes and sat up slightly. "And half of the time I nearly choke on them!"

"Just lie back down and let me think for a second!" Leo ordered.

Donnie grumbled angrily to himself and did as he was told. Leo sighed in relief but then quickly realized he still needed to get Don to take the pills that April had given them. Even though like Raph said, they weren't helping much, but still, something was better than nothing.

He began to brain storm but a sturdy grip on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see (what a surprise) Splinter looking down at him. He didn't say anything but instead nodded towards the kitchen. Leonardo didn't completely understand but he wasn't in the mood to question anything at the moment, so instead he followed taking the pills with him.

Splinter led him into the kitchen as he wondered where he was going with this. He pulled out a grounding bowl and tea kettle. He handed the kettle to Leonardo.

"Prepare some tea, I have an idea."

Leo raised an eye ridge but did as he was told.

"Please hand me Donatello's pills."

Leo nodded and gave Splinter the bottle.

"What are we doing, Sensei?" Leo asked beginning to make tea the way Splinter had shown him.

"You will see, my son."

Leo was confused but merely shrugged. Sensei always had a reason for what he did, no matter how obscured.

Leo waited for the tea to be done as Splinter began to ground up the pills from the bottle. Leo wondered if he should say anything. But what would he say? This wasn't exactly the place for small talk. He didn't have much time to think before his father spoke.

"I heard you and Donatello's conversation the other night."

Leo froze and mentally slapped himself. He should have spoken first.

"You…you did?" He stuttered.

Splinter nodded with sad eyes. "I should have known sooner."

"Sensei..." Leo was cut off by Splinter raising his hand to stop him.

"Let me finish. This is important." Leo paused before nodding.

Splinter continued. "Your brother is at a weak state at the moment, both mentally and physically. At first our only objective was to make him well again, but now I see it is much more the illness that is taking its toll on Donatello." Splinter pushed away the bowl and came closer to Leonardo. "From what Donatello said to you, I finally see what troubles him most: the feeling of neglection. After this virus has passed do not assume that Donatello no longer needs help just because he appears to walk on his own two feet just as fine as you or me, or that he claims that he does not need it, looks can be deceiving my son." Splinter placed a paw on Leo's shoulder. "He is far more stubborn than Raphael, as you quickly learned after he fell ill." Leo couldn't help but chuckle, and Splinter smiled back.

The kettle whistled just in time for their conversation to end. Leo quickly grabbed the kettle and poured the two in to a cup. He looked to his teacher for guidance.

"Sensei, what exactly are we doing?" He asked.

Splinter just smiled and replied. "Improvising."

Splinter took the now powered pill and dumped them into the cup. It was just then Leo realized what he was doing. Splinter took a spoon and stirred the tea quickly before picking it up.

"Remember my words," He glanced towards the door. "that goes for you two as well."

There was a small silence before the sound of scrambling turtles and arguments made their way to their ears

"Mikey you dips stick! I told you to be quiet!"

"I was quiet! And who you callin' dip stick?!"

Leo laughed slightly and accepted a look of disapproval from Splinter, but instead found him with a smile of his own.

The two walked back to the living room where Donnie lay gazing at the T.V. He looked up at Leo standing next to Splinter and groaned.

"Tattle tale…" He muttered closing his eyes.

Leo smiled and took the cup from Splinter. He knelt down next to his brother.

"I'm not taking those pills, Leo." Don snapped.

"Fine, but at least have some tea."

Don opened his eyes and raised an eye ridge. He glanced at the cup, then back at Leo.

"It's spiked, isn't it?"

Leo chuckled. "No, c'mon, just drink it."

"That requires effort…"

Leo shrugged. "Fine, roll on your back."

Don sighed and did as he was told. Leo propped his head up with his pillow and tipped the cup up against Don's lips. He slowly poured the liquid down Don's throat and Don gladly gulped it down. When it was completely gone Don laid back on his side.

"Thanks…I needed that." He smiled.

Leo returned the smile. "Anytime."

"I'm still mad at you though…"

Leo rolled his eyes and patted Don on the shoulder. "Of course you are, just sleep it off."

Don huffed but was quick to apply to the request. Splinter left to meditate as Leo sat down on the couch watching his brother snooze like a mother hawk.

"Is what Sensei said true?"

Leo turned to Mikeys voice. He was looking at him with sad eyes. Raph stood behind him with crossed arms but watched carefully as his brother snoozed. Leo nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but don't worry, Don will forget about it."

Mikey's eyes narrowed. "But we're the ones who are always forgetting him!"

"Mikey relax," He place a hand on Mikey's shoulder. "everything's going to be fine."

"For your's and Don's sake, I hope you're right." Raph grumbled leaving the room. Mikey followed close behind.

Leo glanced back at his sleeping brother and sighed. He hoped he was right too. He couldn't afford another mishap with the condition Donnie was in. He rested his head in his hand for a while and began to think. Nothing in particular, just anything that seemed important.

He finally decided to come back to reality and sighed.

'I need air…' He thought to himself.

He grabbed his katanas just in case and headed topside.

**Two chapters in two days. I'm setting the bar far too high for myself… this was just mostly more filler fluff which I love but if you don't I is sorry :'( Oh wait, no I'm not! MWAHAHAHAHAHA *SMACK* Focus! BTW I have an offer for any artist out there. I you or anyone you know has an active account on deviant art and you are capable of drawing ninja turtles, I would like to see if anyone want to draw something from this story. Whether it's just a random moment you liked or an entire chapter, feel free to draw as you please. Just send me a link in the reviews (I don't check my PM's very much) When I find one I like the best, not only will I share it on here, but I'll make it my profile picture :3 I'd do it myself but I don't know how to do digital art -_- Anyway, reviews aren't necessary but greatly appreciated :3 Sorry if there any mistakes but mistake are just symbols that I'm trying :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**It's that time again! DRUM ROLL PLEASE! *silence* …Fine! I'll do it myself! *drums fingers on keyboard* CHAPTER 8! *more silence* Oh please try to contain your excitement -_- XD just kiddin' Well, anyway , you know the drill. Enjoy the story, please review, yada yada yada.**

Leo sat atop the tallest building he could find, or the at least the closest, he couldn't decide, really. He had his legs pulled to his chest and hooked his arms around them. His chin rested on his knees as he looked over the city. He then began to think, about nothing in particular, just anything he thought was important.

Training, Splinter's words, Donatello's words, more training. Wow, he really needed a hobby.

He hadn't had time to think in a while. Everything just seemed to happen at once. It didn't make sense to him for Donnie to get sick. Sure, he wasn't the strongest of his brothers, but he was the biggest health nut of them all, often hounding his brothers about their health. Oh the irony

Now that he thought about it, Donnie did seem to stay up late hours on the make shift laptop of his. Yet he still managed to wake up bright and cheerful despite often falling asleep at his desk. The more Leo thought about it, he realized he didn't know much about Donnie, or his other brothers for that matter. Oh great, another thing to add to the list of things to feel bad about.

Donatello attitude changed bothered him too. The last time Don acted like that was when they were young. He was beginning to turn into a second Raph.

The sound of sirens in the distance brought him out of his thoughts. He looked down to the streets and saw several police cars racing down the street in pursuit of something. Leo thought about following them but knew it would be better to stay put. It was probably just some idiot purple Dragons.

He went back to his thoughts, now wondering what was going on at home right about then…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Somehow even with his closed, Raph could tell he had woken up from his "power nap" Though he couldn't find energy to open his eyes, he was aware of his surroundings. He remembered coming to his room, falling to his bed and falling asleep soon after. He and his brothers hadn't gotten much sleep over the course of Donatello's ailment. Even Don always seemed exsaughsted despite the fact that a large portion of his day was spent sleeping. He couldn't seem to fall asleep again, so he began to think.

Raph had become distant from his family every sense the first day of Don's sickness. He loved his brother, he loved all of his family, but he wasn't the best at emotional stuff such as the situation he was in. He still tried his best, but he felt it would be better to leave that to his brothers or Splinter.

He finally managed to pry open his heavy eye lids, only to find everything to look blurry to him. He blinked a few times and the blurriness eventually subsided. He let out a loud yawn, not caring who heard, mostly because he was too tired to care. His body wanted some much to go back to sleep, but his brain told him it was time to get up. He stretched and attempted to pop various parts of his body to reduce the stiffness of his bones. After he felt awaken enough to stand up, he made his way out of his room in search of entertainment.

He trudged to the living room, planning to check on his younger brother, only to find his spot on the couch empty. Normally he would have panicked, but knowing that Donnie wouldn't get very far in his condition, so managing to stay calm, and began to look around for his missing brother.

He checked his lab. Nothing.

He checked his room. Nothing.

He checked the dojo. Bingo.

Donnie was sitting at the far side of the dojo with his back facing Raph. He was in the meditating postion only slightly crouched. Raph sighed and shook his head. He walked over to his brother and placed his hands on Don's shoulders, making him jump slightly.

"Hey Don." Raph said calmly."Whatcha doin'?" Raph felt like he was speaking to child. Though it sort of fit, Donnie's attitude had become rather childish.

"Meditating…" Donnie answered quietly. "…at least I'm trying to."

Raph smiled slightly. "How's that working out for you?"

"Not well…" Donnie mumbled closing his eyes tiredly.

"C'mon, Don, let's get you back to the couch." Raph said as he pulled his brother to his feet.

"Mmm…" Donnie hummed in discomfort scrunching his face.

"What's wrong now?" Raph asked.

"No…couch…m-bed…"

"Your bed? You wanna go sleep on you bed?"

Donnie nodded weakly. "Couch's….to hard…"

Raph chuckled and swung Don's arm around his shoulder. "Okay Don, let get you to your bed."

"Mm-laptop…?" Don asked leaning into his brother.

"No laptop." Raph answered still smiling.

"Meat head…" Donning mumbled angrily.

"Oh shut up, you know you love me." Raph laughed.

"I never agreed to that…"

"Smart ass…"

"Thank you."

They left to dojo and stumbled over to Don's room.

"Aww! That's adorable!" They heard a voice squeak not far away. Who else would it be but Mikey.

Raph's eyes narrowed. As he looked at his brother in annoyance.

"You have my permission to smack him later…" Don whispered.

Raph smirked. "That's all I need." He said continuing to walk to Donatello's room.

When they got there, Raph tried his best to make sure Don was comfortable as he set him on his bed. Donnie sunk his face into the pillows and pulled his knees to his chest, shivering slightly. Raoh however draped Don's blanket over him and the shivering stopped. Raph patted his brother's arm before turing around to leave.

"Thanks, Raphie…" He heard Donnie whisper behind him.

Raph cringed at the sound of his childhood nickname, then sighed.

"Anytime, Don." Raph said before leaving.

He walked out the living area to see Leo who appeared to just be getting home from somewhere. Raph raised an eye ridge.

"Where were you?"

"Out."

"Out where?"

"Topside."

"What were you doing there?"

"Just thinking…"

"About what?"

"Are we just gonna stand here playing 20 questions?"

Raph shrugged. "Maybe, how many questions was that?"

Leo sighed. "Never mind." Leo walked passed Raph and went down to sit on the couch. His brother soon joined him.

"So, what were you doing topside?" Raphael asked.

"I already told you, I was thinking." Leo answered.

"Seriously? You need a hobby." Raph joked.

Leo chuckled. "My thoughts exactly."

And then it finally dawned on Leo. He sat up strait and immediately looked over to where he had left Don.

"Where's Donnie?" He asked nervously.

"Relax, he's in his room." Raph assured him. "He wandered off into the dojo to meditate and he asked me to take him to his room."

Leo sighed with relief. "Thank goodness."

Raph pat a hand on Leo's shoulder and gave him a small shake. "Quit worrying so much, Donnie will be fine."

"I hope you're right."

Their conversation was interrupted by violent coughs coming from Donnie's room. Without hesitation, both brothers shot up and raced for Donnie's room.

When they got there, Donnie was curled in a tight ball, clenching his chest, his face scrunched in pain. Leo raced to his side and sat his brother into his lap and wrapped his arms around him.

"Easy Donnie, just breathe…" Leo whispered trying to calm his brothers painful coughing fit.

"Chest…it's…burning!" Don managed to cough out.

"It's okay Donnie, just breathe." Leo tried to sound as calm as he could as he rocked his brother back and forth

Raph stood there watching the whole scene in horror. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't interfere because he would have no idea what to do, but he couldn't stand there! He felt so useless.

After a while, Don's coughing stopped, but was replaced by a series of sharp inhales as he struggled to breathe. The burning in his chest was growing with each breath. Tears leaked from his eyes as he buried his face into Leo chest. Don began to shake so Leo grabbed his blanket and wrapped his brother tightly.

"You okay Donnie?"

"…hurts…"

Leo sighed. "Just go back to bed, okay?"

"Mmkay…" Don yawned,

Leo set him back on his bed and tucked him in. He then leaned over and place a small kiss on his brothers forehead, who smiled slightly and dozed off. Leo smiled too and then looked over to Raph.

Raph was looking down at the floor in shame.

"I just…stood there! I couldn't think of anything else to do!" He tried to explain.

"You are not at fault, Raphael."

Splinter's voice made both turtles jump slightly.

"This is new territory for you, you are still learning."

Raph looked at Splinter and then back at the floor. "Hai Sensei…" He mumbled.

"Um…did I miss something?" Mikey's voice from behind Splinter.

Splinter smiled slightly, then looked to Leonardo and Raphael.

He nodded to Donatello. "Watch over him."

Leo nodded. "Hai Sensei…"

With that, Splinter left, leaving behind a very confused Michelangelo.

"Did I miss something?" He asked. "Jeez, can't I take a nap without something going wrong?!"

"Let it go, Mikey. C'mon, let's go "order" some pizza." Raph said with a wink.

Mikey smiled and followed his brother out. Leo smiled and shook his head, following his brothers to make sure they stayed out of trouble.

**Ta-da! Hold you aplaused, please! *even more silence* You guys are jerks… lol jk. Just to let you know, in the future, I plan to repost with a month of each time I post. If I'm late, then I probally dead…or lazy…or sick…or dead XD and if I'm early. Then be grateful! XD well anyway, please review and let me know if I'm getting better with my typos BTW I'm sorry for the slow opening -_- **


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm too good to you guys. :3 I'm sorry if this feels rushed, seeing how the story itself is far to rushed already, but I'm trying to get this done quick because I'm going to get pretty busy soon so I don't want you guys to think I abanded this story, I myself hate dead fics. I was thinking about making a comic version of this but I have no idea how to do digital art. Nor do I have the attention spand. So if anyone else wants to, be my guest. So again, read, review, blah blah blah**

Mikey bit into his pizza and a wide grin spread across his face. It had been so long sense had pizza he had almost forgotten how much he loved it. Leo and Raph still wouldn't tell him what happened with Donnie while he was taking his nap, but he was too busy stuffing his face to care anymore.

Each brother made sure to save at least one piece of pizza, hoping that Don would want to eat something when he woke up.

What they didn't know is that Don wasn't that fortunate.

He lay there in his bed, in miserable agony. He was laying on his side staring blankly at the wall with half shut eyes. All he wanted to do was sleep, by the burning in his chest refused to let him. His once clam breaths were instead replaced short sharp gasps as he tried to breathe despite the tightness of his chest. So there he laid, completely miserable.

He let out a dry cough and instantly regretted it. He let out a gasp and clutched his chest in pain, shutting his eyes tightly. Small tears dared to leak from his eyes, but he managed to keep them back. He let out a groan and sank deeper into his pillow, still unable to fall to sleep.

"Knock knock." He heard at his door.

He smiled. "Who's there?" He asked his voice barely above a whisper.

"Your favoretist brother." He heard Mikey answer.

"Hey, Mikey." He said in a dry voice.

"Ya hungry bro?" Mikey held out a pate with a piece of Pizza. "We got Pizza."

Don shook his head. "Not hungry…thanks anyway." He said closing his eyes.

Mikey's smile disappeared. He missed having fun with all of his brothers like they did when they were kids, back when they were fun. Even though his brothers had matured over the years, Mikey in a lot of ways refused to grow up, so he often felt out of place among his brothers. Things were a lot different when they were all young and stupid.

~flash back~

"_Hand it ovah Donnie! It's my tuwn to play wiff da car!" Raph whined trying to maneuver the car out of his younger brother's hands._

"_No way! I made it! It's mine!" Donnie protested pulling the toy car away from his brother._

"_Give it!" Raph yelled jumping onto his brother._

"_No!" Donnie shouted trying to squirm away._

"_Boys!" The two turtle tots didn't have time to react to their fathers voice before the felt themselves being lifted off the floor._

_Splinter pulled the two brothers away from each other and held them in each arm. Donnie held the toy car close to his chest ad he stuck his tongue out at Raph, who shot his a glare._

"_What is going on here?" Splinter demanded._

"_Donnie wont share da car!" Raph shouted pointing an accusing figure at Don._

"_I don't have ta share! It's MINE!" Donnie retorted._

_Mikey was watching the whole thing with wide eyes and a giant grin in his face, while Leo's attention was on the T.V. One because his favorite show was on __**(do I even need to say what show?)**__ but mostly because he didn't want to get involved in another one of Donnie and Raph's fights._

_Splinter set his two son's back on the floor but kept his paws on their shoulders so they would start to fight again. _

"_Boys, using force to get what you want it not a wise decision on either parts" Splinter turned his head to Donnie. "Donatello, you must learn to share with your brothers."_

_Donnie frowned as he look down to the floor, squeezing the car closer to his body. Raph snickered and Splinter shot him glare and he quick shut his mouth._

"_Raphael, you need to learn to control your anger and ask nicely next time you want to borrow your brothers toys."_

_Raph looked down at the floor too and then nodded. He felt someone tap his shoulder, he looked up and saw Donnie holding the toy car towards him with a small smile. Raph smiled too and took the car._

"_Thanks."_

_Splinter smiled and left to meditate __**(though he does that a lot doesn't he?)**_

_Donnie jumped on the couch and began to color in a half-finished coloring book he found one day at a landfill._

"_Hey, Donnie?" Donnie lifted his head from the book to look at Raph._

_Raph smiled and lifted up the toy car. "Wanna race?"_

_Donnie hesitated and then smiled. "I'll go get my airplane."_

"_I wanna race too!" Mikey said eagerly._

"_Do you have anything to race with?" Donnie asked pulling out his remote controlled air plane._

"_Yeah! You're lookin' at it!" Mikey said gesturing to himself._

_Raph and Donnie looked at each other before shruging._

"_Works for me." Raph placed the car on the car on the ground and grabbed the remote._

_Donnie set his plane next to the car as Mikey positioned himself next to it. _

"_You ready to get beat , Don?" Raph challenged_

"_Oh, please! You're the one who's gonna get beat!" Donnie laugh._

"_Sorry, bro's, but I'm gonna whip both of you." Mikey said sounding rather cocky._

_Leo turned his attention away from the T.V. and watched his brothers getting along with each, a very rare sight to see. He laughed at Raph and Donnie's faces when Mikey pulled ahead of both he car and the plane. In the end, Mikey actually won the race which resulted in his two other brothers yelling for a re-match. Leo simply smiled and turned back to the T.V._

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Mikey? You okay?"

Mikey was brought out of his thoughts but his brother's scratchy voice.

"Huh? Oh yeah, just thinking."

"You? Thinking? Are you really my favoritist little brother?" Donnie asked with a weak smile.

Mikey laughed and raised an eye ridge. "So I am your favorite?"

"On certain days…" Donnie said with a yawn.

Mikey laughed again. "So, you sure you're not hungry? It might make you feel better."

Don shook his head. "I'm sure…you can have it."

Mikey frowned and let out a sigh. "Alright, see ya later bro."

"Come visit me again…while you still can." He mumbled the last part under his breath so his brother couldn't hear it.

Mikey left leaving Donnie by himself in the darkness once again. Though the burning in his chest was growing, his brain wasn't going to stay awake any longer. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. His body relaxed and as his brain began to fall asleep, the burring appeared to lessen. He brought his blanket up to his shoulders and slipped into a peaceful slumber.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Leo sat in silence in the living room late at night, his arms crossed over his chest. The T.V. was on but he wasn't any mind to it, he was staring at the floor, lost in his thoughts, again. This time it was mainly Donatello, but some other thoughts made their way into his mind.

Like the fact that he hadn't seen much of Splinter lately. He was spending most of his time either meditating or cooped up in his room, aside from the occasional moments he would sit with his ill son attempting to lift his sprits. But still to Leo it seemed a little out of character to him.

Raph had become slightly more open with his brothers and showing a softer side that they rarely got to see. This was a good thing for Mikey who was normally Raph's number 1 target. And also good for Leo sense Raph was always looking to pick fights with him just for shits and giggles **(I know they probably wouldn't say that but I just love that saying) **

Mikey was still Mikey but he wasn't as happy go lucky as before. Yeah he still cracked joked every now and then but he seemed to have less energy than usual. Of course he still pushed his luck with Raph temper, and that seemed to make everyone even Donnie smile, and lord know everyone needed a good smile lately.

Leo positioned himself so that he was lying down, resting his head on the head rest. He felt his eye lids droop as he gazed at the T.V. It was some news story about **another** robbery. Leo wished he could just tell those cops about the purple dragons hide out and get them of their backs.

He was just on the verge of falling asleep when he felt something drop on top of him. His eyes fluttered open as he realized what was dropped on him was a blanket. He looked up and was shocked to see Raph standing over him with a smirk.

"Donnie won't be happy when he finds out you're sleeping in his spot." He said adjusting the blanket.

Leo avoided eye contact. "I wasn't sleeping…" He mumbled

"You're not talking to Mikey; you don't need to act stupid with me." Raph said crossing his arms.

Leo smiled slightly, he felt Raph pat his shoulder before he left for his room. Leo watched him leave and smiled again.

"Thanks Raph…" He whispered. He closed his eyes and eventually drifted to sleep.

**Yeah, this chapter sucks, I won't deny that. Maybe you'll find something good in it, but not likely. Like I said, I rushed this. I'm starting to notice more that the focus is bening taken off Donnie, and rather on his family and each of the family members learning about each other and learning not to take each other for granted. Which may not be good considering the fic is listed and a "Donnie fic" but you guys seem to like fluff as much as I do, so I guess it works in a sense. Well, anyway, let me know what ya think. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Nananananananananananananana nana UPDATES! Did ya miss me? No of course not. But guess what? UR STUCK WITH ME! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! *ahem* anyway here lies chapter 10, twas a decent idea that shall be missed… Da f**k am I doing u may ask? Well my laptop passed away recently and I guess I'm just over flowed with grief. Now for a moment of silence for my dear friend… oh who am I kidding that thing was a piece of crap! …but it was my piece of crap :'( *sniff* Just…continue… *sob***

The sound of loud angry voices brought Leo out of his sleep. He groaned and tried to ignore them but they continued to blare in his ears. He finally realized that sleep was no longer an option, and instead sat up and rubbed his eyes, attempting to chase away his grogginess, but to no avail. He suddenly felt very stiff before remembering that he had fallen asleep on the couch. Memories of the previous night came flooding back to him and his lips curved into a smile

His smile quickly disappeared though after the arguing voices became louder. Groaning, he lifted himself from the couch and ventured towards the angry sounding voices. As he came closer he began to recognize the voices of his brothers that were still…"stable" The voices led him to the dojo where he found Raph and Mikey at each other's throats for whatever reason. This should be good.

"He won't listen to me either!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Cause you're too soft! I would've just shoved it down his throat!" Raph shouted back.

"Oh yeah? What would you do after he started chocking?"

"Same thing I do with everything, blame it on you." Raph said with a smirk.

Mikey pouted and then tried to change the subject back. "Maybe we should have Leo try, do you think he's awake yet?"

"Yes…" Leo answered joining his brothers.

"Well, if it aint sleeping beauty." Raph joked.

Leo ignored him. "What's going on now?" He asked

Mikey suddenly lept forward , grabbing Leo's shoulders. "It's awful, Leo! Donnie's turning into… A SECOND RAPH!" He cried dramatically.

Leo looked over to Raph for help.

"Donnie's just being stubborn again, but this time he won't eat anything." Raph answered.

"Wait, what." Leo said pulling away from Mikey. "He's not eating?"

Raph shook his head. "We tried everything."

"I even offered him one of my famous P-shakes!" Mikey cried again.

"First of all, the only thing your P-shakes are famous for is food poisoning," Raph cut in. "and secondly, he wouldn't eat/drink one of those even if he would eat."

Before Mikey could protest, Leo stepped back into the conversation.

"When's the last time he ate?" He asked.

Raph shrugged. "He keeps saying he's not hungry right after his stomach roars at me."

Leo quickly became confused. Donnie was never one to pass up a meal, let alone stop eating all together. Something was wrong.

"I'll go talk to him." He said leaving the room.

"Good luck…you'll need it." Raph grumbled.

Leo came to the door leading into Donnie's room and hesitated. He wasn't sure what to acpect. Would Donnie be sleeping peacefully? Or would he be…

He shook his head to dispose of the thought and slowly opened the door. He peered into see the room was consumed by complete and utter darkness. His eye quickly adjusted as he spotted the lump he knew as he brother laying on his bed. He was laying on his side sleeping. His breaths were short and sharp. His mouth was slightly opened revealing his gap in his teeth. His face was scrunched in discomfort.

Leo tiptoed to wear his brother lay passed out. He lightly shook Don's shoulder and got a groan as a response.

"Mmm…" Donnie hummed and he pried his eye lids opened and looked up at his brother. He sighed. "This better be good…"

"Hey, Don." Leo said rubbing Don's arm. "How you feeling?"

"Splendid, now get out." Don snapped weakly.

Leo sighed and shook his head. He really was becoming like Raph, God knows one Raph was enough.

"When's the last time you ate something?"

Don groaned and shoved his face into his pillow. "Not this again…" He grumbled.

"Come on Don, you gotta eat sometime." Leo told him.

"Says who?" Donnie questioned.

"Says me."

Leo and Donnie quickly looked towards the door where Splinter stood eyeing both of them. Donnie froze. Oh, he was in trouble now, they'd brought out the big guns. Leo merely grinned devilishly, knowing Don was in for it now.

"Donatello, when did you last eat?" Splinter asked walking closer to Don.

Donnie sank deeper into the pillow and avoided eye contact with his father. He mumbled something that neither Splinter nor Leonardo could understand. Splinter raised an eye brow as his patience began to wear thin.

"Donatello," Splinter 's tone had become very serious suddenly "look me in the eye when I'm talking to you."

Donnie cringed but did as he was told. "I don't remember…" He answered quietly.

"Why not?" Splinter asked .

Donnie paused before speaking again. "…hurts…"

"What hurts?" Splinter continued, beginning to sound calmer.

Don tried to shift his position but quickly grabbed his mid-section in pain. "…stomach…" Donnie hissed trough clenched teeth.

"Hmm…" Splinter hummed looking over Donatello.

Leo watched the situation carefully, wondering what Splinter had in mind to get Donatello to eat.

"Perhaps if you tried eating something, your stomach will feel better." Splinter suggested.

Donnie shook his head weakly. "Don't wanna…get sick again…"

"If you don't try, you'll never know." Said Splinter.

"Exactly." Don mumbled.

Splinter thought for a moment, stroking his beard. He then finally spoke.

"I believe I may have a solution, wait here." With that Splinter left, leaving nothing but awkward silence between the two turtles. That is until Leo's curiosity got the best of him.

"Alright, what's your real reason?" He questioned.

Donnie looked up at him with a raised eye ridge. "What?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Don, I can understand your stomach hurting, but I know you wouldn't just stop eating because of that. Now what's really going on?"

Leo could tell that Don knew what he was talking about, but remained silent. About a minute passed before Donatello spoke.

"I…I don't want to be sick anymore…" He whimpered.

Leo raised an eye ridge. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not getting better anytime soon…I figured I'd…speed up the process…"

Leo's eyes widened. Was he saying what he thought he's saying?

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked.

Donnie remained quiet and allowed Leo to let the message sink in. Was Donnie trying to…

He was brought out of his thoughts however by Splinter walking back into the room. He held a cup in his hand as he knelt down next to Donatello. He pressed the cup his son's lips. Don was forced to gulp down the liquid before he could aske any questions. When the cup was empty, Don let out a long tired sigh. He eyes drooped as he laid his head back deeper into the pillow and slipped into unconsciousness.

Leo blinked. What just happened?

As if he and read Leo's mind, Splinter answered him. "I was something I had been saving for such an occasion. When he awakens, his pain should be dulled."

Leo paused before nodding. He stood up and left, leaving Splinter with his ill little brother. He walked back to the dojo where his brothers were waiting for him.

"Well? Did you get him to eat?" Raph asked.

Leo shook his head. "No, we'll have to try again when he wakes up."

Mikey noticed something was troubling Leo. He eyes were expressing sorrow.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Leo looked to his little brother, then to Raph.

"Donnie…said something…" Leo stammered…

"Like what?" Raph asked.

Leo paused and let out a sigh. "It sounded like He doesn't want to live anymore…"

**Dun dun DUN! DRAMA! Cliffhangers suck, don't they? Well I have to put up with them and now so do you! I'm sooo~ tired right now , that's why this is so short and rushed, I'm about to pass out… Well, please enjoy and review. This chapter is dedicated to my dear departed laptop. Services will be held on Tuesday XD**


	11. Chapter 11

**HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY! I have nothing better to do today so… yeah…just read… I guess…**

Silence haunted the room. Raph and Mikey started at their brother, trying to process what he had just told them. That is until Raph finally spoke.

"Wh…what do you mean?" Raph stammered "He's just…giving up?"

"Sounds like it." Leo whispered.

Raph's eye's narrowed. "Well "captain" what do we do?"

Leo's eyes widened at Raph's tone. Why was he so angry all of a sudden? He did ponder it for to long though, he had to think of an answer, quickly.

"Maybe…maybe April could help…" Mikey squeaked.

Raph and Leo looked over to Mikey, causing him the think that he had said something wrong. Leo and Raph exchanged surprised looked then looked back to Mikey.

"Mikey…you actually said something useful…" Raph said stunned.

Mikey smiled slightly. "Thanks…I think."

Leo smiled. Of course, Donnie would never be able to say no to April. He would be putty in her hands. It was a fool proof plan.

"Mikey, call April." Leo ordered.

Mikey nodded quickly and rushed out of the room.

"Raph come with me." Leo motioned Raph to follow as he made his way out of the dojo.

Raph let out a sigh. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Sure do, now c'mon."

"Alright, alright, keep your pants on." Raph groaned walking after his brother.

"Raph, we don't wear pants." Leo said with a smirk.

"Shut up, I'm tired."

~/\~

Moments later, Leo and set Raph to making soup while he ground up Donnie's pills like he saw Splinter do a few days before.

"Why am I the one who's cooking?" Raph snapped. "Isn't that Mikey's job?"

"Yeah, but do you remember the last Mikey "experimented" in the kitchen?" Leo answered.

Raph hesitated and then shrugged. "Good point." He then went back to what he was doing.

Mikey came in shortly after, looked over Raph's work and frowned playfully.

"Alright, after this, Raph's not allowed near the stove anymore." He Joked.

"Mikey, I'm in position of boiling liquid, don't tempt me." Raph spat.

Mikey's eyes widened as he took a giant step back and in hid behind Leo in the process.

"Ok, now he's **banished** from the stove." He whispered. Raph just smiled.

"Did you call April yet, Mikey?" Leo asked.

Mikey nodded. "Yep, she said she'd be here soon."

"Define soon." Said Raph.

"Well, I told her about the whole deal about Donnie being depressed, so I assume…" Mikey held up his figures to count down. When he got down to the last figure, sure enough, the sound of footsteps began to fill the lair.

"Guys! I'm here!" April called as she made her way to where the brothers were gathered. **{Don't ya just love how she just comes right the f**k out of nowhere?}**

Mikey grinned and crossed his arms. "I'm a genius, aren't I?"

~/\~

Donnie laid on his bed mask less, cluching his stomach in pain. He knew he needed to eat, but he just couldn't. For whatever reason, food didn't seem desirable anymore. His illness left him feeling irrational and he couldn't think strait, and he hated it. It just wanted it to end. And since the illness didn't look to be disappearing anytime soon, he felt he could end it himself…

Donnie shook his head, trying to dispose of the thought. 'What am I thinking?!' He thought. 'You're supposed to be the smart one! Stop being so stupid!'

Before he could finish his argument with himself his stomach let out a groan. He then let a groan of his own. He then heard muffled footsteps entering the lair. When he heard April's voice coming from outside his door, he began to panic. His brother's were such snitches. Of course, of all people to call, he had to be April. He shook his head, he wasn't going to let her or his brothers get the best of him just because he was sick. He was going to stand his ground.

He heard a few small knocks on his door."Donnie?"

Don flinched at the sound of April's voice at his door. Oh, this was going to be harder than he thought.

"You awake in there?" April's voice cooed.

"No…" He croaked.

"Wait, he's talking in his sleep?" Don heard Mikey whisper, causing him to smile.

There was a smack followed by Raph's voice. "Be quiet Mikey, the grownups are talking." Don chuckled.

The door creaked open and before he could stop himself, Raph flipped the switch on the side of the wall as a blinding light (or at least by Donnie's standards) filled the room. Don groaned and whipped the covers over his head, shielding his face. April swatted Raph's arm and flipped the lights back off. Don however kept his face covered. April pulled up one of Don's computer chairs and sat next to Don's bed.

"Hey, Donnie." April said trying to sound cheerful.

"Nrgh…" Don grunted keeping his face covered.

April frowned playfully. "Aw, c'mon Mr. Grumpy, aren't you happy to see me?"

"I'm not happy to see anybody right now…" He mumbled.

"Aw, cheer up!"

April lifted the blanket from Donatello's face, revealing his zombie like complection. The absence of his mask allowed everyone to see the multiple bags under his half opened eyes, his glistening skin that was soaked from perspiration, and his tear stained cheeks.

"AW, GROSS!" Mikey yelped. Don groaned and threw his pillow over his head in embarrassment.

April glared at Mikey and shooed him and his brothers away. They quickly obeyed and April turned her attention back to Don. She put a hand on his shell.

"C'mon, Donnie, Mikey didn't mean it." She assured him.

"Yeah he did…" Don moaned.

April was surprised when Don allowed her to take the pillow and put it back under his head.

"Oh, lighten up." April reached for a bowl filled with soup."I bet you're hungry, right?"

Don scrunched his face and moved away from the bowl.

"No…" He whispered.

April moved the bowl closer to Don, who moved away again only to have April push it closer.

"Mm-April!" Donnie whined. "Stop!"

"No! Not until you take it." April demanded.

After Don refused for the 5th time, April moved to plan B.

"Alright, if you're going to act like a baby, I'm going to treat you like one."

April scooped a spoonful of the soup and moved the spoon close to Don's lips.

"Open up."

Don raised an eye ridge and looked up at April. "April, wha-"

April cut him off by shoving the spoon into his mouth. His eyes widened before he shut them tightly and tried to force down the warm liquid. After April pulled out the spoon, Don began to cough wildly, choking on the soup that April forced down his throat.

"Good boy."April chuckled as Donnie weakly glared at her.

"Now, do you want to repeat the process, or would you like to do it by yourself?" She asked asking ever so smugly.

Don hesitated before grumbling angrily to himself and taking the bowl from April. He took a sip and made a face of disgust. He glanced over to April who held up her hands in defense.

"Don't look at me! Raph made that not me!" She said, keeping her smile.

"Bleh… I thought they were trying to get me to eat, not poison me!" Don complained holding the bowl away from him.

April took the bowl and placed it on his nightstand. Everything was quiet for awhile. Donatello sat up right but was crouched over rubbing his temples. April sat quietly and watched him, searching for a way to start a conversation. Don looked over and noticed she was staring at him and smirked.

"See something you like?" He joked.

April brought herself out of her thoughts and smiled.

"In your dreams!" She replied. Don returned a smile.

After a few more moments of silence, April spoke.

"So, how ya feeling?" She asked. Don gave her a confused glance. "Y'know, other than the obvious."

"What do you mean?" Don asked.

"Y'know, just… how are you?"

Don raised an eye ridge. "April, is something wrong?"

April sighed no point in trying to hide it now.

"Alright, Mikey told me about you being depressed, and that's why you weren't eating."

Donnie's eyes widened, then he gulped. "He did?"

April nodded. Don hung his head in shame avoiding eye contact with April. Great, as if he wasn't humiliated enough already. The room was quiet until Don felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly in the direction on April. She was smiling, but if was a sad smile.

"Hey, it's okay." She told him. "We'll make sure you're alright."

Don smiled too, but a sad one equal to Aprils. "Thanks, I needed that…"

Aprils smile grew as she stood up. "Scoot over." She told him.

He was confused but did as he was told. April sat down on the bed and put Don's head in her lap, much like she did when he was attacked by that giant monkey mutant, causing his face to turn from green to red within a matter of seconds. He then smiled as he looked back on when Raph had done the same things early on in his illness.

"How 'bout I get you something actually edible to eat when you wake up?" April asked.

"Please…" Don whispered.

"Y'know for someone with a shell, you sure are a softy."

"It's a gift." Don replied with a grin.

Not long after, Don nodded off

~/\~

Raph sat impatiently at the table drumming his figures as Spike watched his in curiosity. Leo and Mikey had left after Mikey demanded pizza. Leo told him to stay behind, but wouldn't say why. So there he sat, waiting. He kept glancing to Donnie's room. April had been in there for a longtime. What was going on in there?

He wanted some much to find out, but thought it would be better to stay where he was. He would want to walk in there and risk disturbing Donnie.

Just then, his T-phone went off. He looked at the screen and saw April's picture, and quickly became confused. It was a text.

'Get in here' It read.

Raph quickly obeyed and went to Donnie's room. He peered though the door way and saw His little brother snoozing in the teen girls lap, which managed to bring a smile to his face.

"Boy, that was fast." April joked.

"What's wrong?" Raph asked.

"Nothing, I just need you to take my place while I run to the lady's room." April answered.

Raph froze. She wanted him to take her place as Don's pillow?

"Uh …sure…"

April got up slowly trying not to move Don to much and allowed Raph to slip in.

"Be back in a sec." April said before heading to the door.

The door must have been louder than Raph thought because after it closed, Donnie stired in his sleep. He mumbled sleeply to himself before rolling on his belly and wrapping his arms tightly around Raph's thigh, causing Raph to stiffen.

"Uh… Don?" Raph looked down at Donnie. His face was smooched into Raph's leg. He had a death grip on his leg and appeared to have no intention of letting go. He continued to mumble randomly in his sleep. He stop for a moment and snuggled deeper into Raph's thigh.

"Raphie…" He whispered.

Raph smiled and for the first time felt butterflies in his stomach. He rubbed his brothers head gently, trying not to wake him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Donnie." He assured him.

"Good…" Don mumbled before dosing off again.

Raph chuckled. He kind of hoped April didn't comeback.

Little did he know that April and seen the whole thing though a small crock in the door way. She was surprised Raph hadn't seen her open it back up. She tiptoed over to the living room and dialed Leo's number.

"Did it work?" Was the first thing Leo said when he picked up.

"Yup, they're in there right now." April glanced at the door. "It's so adorable."

Leo chuckled. "Be sure to send me a picture."

"I'll try." April suddenly frowned."Too bad Donnie's not feeling any better."

Leo sighed. "Yeah, well, at least it can't get any worse."

~/\~

Karai watched from the ceiling as Bradford approached her father, The Shredder. He knelt before him and spoke.

"The town had been quiet lately, not sign of the turtles." Bradford said.

Karai raised an eye brow. Those turtles, quiet? That was unlikely.

"When were they that last seen?" The Shredder's voice boomed.

"A few days ago, but they didn't appear to be of any bother to our plans."

The Shredder hesitated. "They must be planning something. Next time they're spotted, report to me their actions. Don't let them get past you."

"I will not fail you, Master." Bradford assured.

"I've heard those words from you many times. If you value your life, you will stay true to those words."

Bradford flinced. "Y-yes, Master…"

Karai's curiosity was definitely peeked now. She remembered the one turtle that obviously had a crush on her. It was kind of cute. She looked out one of the windows, and as if right on cue, she saw two of the turtles leaping from roof top to roof top, including Leonardo.

"Perfect." She said to herself, before leaving in search of entertainment.

**DUN DUN DUN! I tis evil! This is by far the longest chapter so far. Your welcome! It's also by far the cutest. Even though I don't care for April's character or her and Donnie's "relationship" but she was in high demand and the opportunity was to perfect. I love Raph and Donnie brotherly love (not Tcest) and I wish there was more of it. Well anyway WE HAVE PLOT! Kinda… Now I know I wrote this before Karai was in the new show, but hey, if the Super Mario Brothers movie can make Mario and Luigi father and son, then I can do this shit too! Well anyway, please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! I've posted this new chapter, so read it with Glee!  
And please review~!'**

Leo and Mikey leapt from roof top to roof top, making their way back to the sewers. Leo was in front while Mikey lagged behind showing off with several flips and spins in the air, a pizza bow pressed to his chest.

"Oh my dear pizza, will you marry me?" Mikey cooed to cardboard box

"Quit messing around, Mikey, we gotta get home." Leo snapped.

"You're right! This is no place for marriage!" Mikey laughed and then jumped far ahead of his brother

Leo sighed and rolled his eyes. Why did he always have to be the only one who was the slightest bit mature. When they got to the closest man hole, Leo bent down and lifted the cover, allowing Mikey and his fiancé to slip down into the sewers. Before he could do the same, he heard a voice calling him quietly. He looked all around but could not find the source of the voice.

"Over here!" Demanded a loud whisper.

He finally found the person who was calling him, but he wished he hadn't. Not far away, Karai was standing pressed up against a wall in an ally. She motioned for him to come over but he hesitated. Their "chit chats" normally didn't end well.

"Yo, Leo! You comin' or what?" Mikey called up the man hole bringing Leo back to reality.

Without taking his eyes off Karai, he answered: "Uh… yeah. Just go on ahead. Tell Splinter I'll be home a little late."

Mikey was confused but simply shrugged. That just meant more Pizza for him. "Alright, dude, but there might not be any pizza left when you get back."

"I think I'll take my chances." Leo whispered.

He placed the cover back over the manhole and stood up facing Karai. She motioned again and Leo began walking in her direction.

'What are you doing?!' His brain warned. 'Have you forgotten who she is?!'

Leo sighed. No, he knew very well who she was and what the outcome of him talking to her was most likely going to be. Yet he kept walking towards Karai, and a possible death. He didn't know why, even Karai didn't know why. He just kept walking.

Leo kept his glare locked as Karai as he stepped even closer, Karai however just smiled. When she felt Leo was close enough, she walker further into the shadows of the ally and nodded her head letting Leo know she wanted him to follow. He just kept walking. When they couldn't go back any further, they turned to face each other. Even though it was to dark for them to read each other's face to pin point their emotions, somehow they each had a pretty good idea to what the other was think. It was quiet for awhile before Karai spoke breaking the almost pleasant silence that hung heavy in the ally.

"Haven't seen you in awhile." Even in the darkness of the ally, Leo could sense the smirk on her face. "The city's been boring with you turtles."

Leo narrowed his eyes attempting to appear serious despite the small blush on his face. "We've been busy."

"Whatcha been busy with?"

Leo looked away in the direction in which they came, trying to lessen the intensity of Karai's stare.

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Aw, come! Secrets don't make friends!" **(But friends make secrets!)**

"Why are we even having this conversation?!" Leo suddenly snapped. "I'm not even supposed to be near you, let alone talk to you."

Karai kept her smirk and raised an eye brow. "Who told you that? You "daddy" Splinter?"

Leo glared at her. "As a matter of fact, yes, not that it's any of your business."

"You never answered my question." Karai folded her arms across her chest. "Where've you been?"

"Why do you want to know so badly?" Leo asked.

"Can't I be concerned for my friend?"

"I'm not your friend." Leo snapped.

"Ouch…" Karai said sarcastically. "That hurt."

"I don't have time for you." Leo said beginning to leave.

Karai watched him begin to leave. It was strange; normally he was putty in her hands. She was well aware of the crush Leo had on her and often used it to her advantage. Plus, she thought it was kinda cute. She began to brain storm. Time was ticking as Leo got farther and farther away, off to catch up with the one with the orange mask. Then it hit her.

"It's the scrawny one, isn't it?"

Leo stopped mid step, eyes wide. Karai grinned.

"I'm guessing I'm right judging your reaction." Karai said smugly. "What's his deal?"

"How could you…"

"Well you were with the dumb one, Raph's to hotheaded to be able to willingly stay underground, so that left the srawny one." Karai chuckled. "It's elementary my dear turtle."

Leo rolled his eyes and spoke without turning to face Karai. "He's sick, alright? Now leave me alone."

"Aw, poor baby." Karai's voice was riddled with false sympathy, causing Leo's anger to boil. "in that case I can understand him not being active, but what about the rest of you? What's holding you back?"

"Our family sticks together, not that you know anything about family."

Karai's eye's narrowed. Normally if anyone said anything like that to her, but she wanted to see how much farther she could push Leo before she started a fight. An angry fight is an entertaining fight.

"You're a real sap, y'know that?" Karai said stepping closer to Leo. "You let a small problem stop you."

"It's not a "small problem." Leo replied bluntly.

Karai shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"Why do you even care?"

"I don't." Karai said with a voice that made it almost impossible to tell her emotion. "Shredder does. Bradford tattled on you about not being active latey."

Leo sighed. Of course, Dogpound was bound to notice sooner or later that his favorite chew toys weren't around.

"I'll be sure to tell them you're still alive. I think he'll be happy to know that he still has the opportunity to do it himself."

Leo snapped. He whirled around ready to fight but froze when he saw Karai was nowhere to be found **(Ha! You get NO FIGHT SEQUENCE!...yet) He** stood still for a second but soon his anger began to build until he had to let it out. He grabbed both katanas from the straps and slammed them on the concrete with all his force, causing the blades to break in half. He slowly sunk to his knees and put his hands to his face, this time allowing tears to fall. He blew it. He talked to the one person he's not suppose to talk to, allowed her to find weakness in him and his family to her advantage, and let her get away rather than taking her down when he had the chance.

Everything bad that could possibly happen to him was happening to him all at once with no breaks in the slightest. Why did this illness have to enter their lives in the first place, and infect Donnie of all people. The one turtle who probably could have solved the problem before it even began. He sniffed and whipped his face.

'I've failed…' Was all he could think. 'I've put my family in even more risk than they already were.'

For the longest time he just sat there, as if wait for more bad things to happen. Staring at the concrete and watching his tears form puddles as they fell, he tried to figure out where everything went wrong. Their lives were just fine before, yeah they weren't perfect, but they were fine. Then karma for things they'd never done came back to claim them as its victims. He just didn't understand.

Whipping away the last of his tears on his face, he shakily stood. He turned to the man whole and began walking. He lifted the lid, jumped down and began walking home. Walking away from what had just happened, walking away from his mistakes, and heading to the only place he could find the slightest bit of happiness. He just kept walking.

~/\~

The trip home was a long one, not that Leo was going very fast to begin with, but he was grateful for the friendly environment as he entered the lair. All was quiet. No loud video games, no arguments, no power tools, just silence. Normally he would go mad from so much silence but he was happy for some peace, but at the same time he felt so much silence was too good to be true, at least without a catch. Curious, he began searching for his brothers, mostly Donnie to make sure he was still breathing.

As he searched he began to think of unpleasant answers for the empty feeling of the lair. We're they kid napped? Did the Shredder already get to them? Did scientist come and nab them while he was gone. His fears however were put to rest when he came to Donnie's room.

On his bed was not only Donnie, but also Raph and Mikey huddled together sleeping soundly. Raph laid next to Donnie with a grip on his younger brother, not that Donnie seemed to mind, and Mikey was curled up at the foot of the bed nearly covering his entire pillow with drool. Leo smiled. He remembered doing much like this when one of them was sick when they were younger. He tip-toed closer to the bed and searched for a way for him to sneak in. Sure enough there was a spot just big enough for him to squeeze in, almost as if they had planned on his arrival.

He laid down as quietly as he could andwas finally able to relax. For awhile he listened to the harmonies of Raph's soft breathing, Mikey's snores, and Donnie's rough and raspy breaths. For anyone else this would be annoying, but to him it was sweet music, just being able to know that his brothers were still alive and breathing acted much like a lullaby as he slipped into a long anticipated rest.

**Tee da! I'm such a genius! Lol anyway, I tried to capture Karai's personality as much as I could with her not being in too many episodes, and even then she's just a few one-liners and a smirk so I found it kinda difficult. Oh well, I tried my best. It find it funny how I'm constantly telling the story from Leo's perspective and yet he's me, least favorite turtle. I don't hate him or anything, he's just always been kind of…boring. I mean think about it , You got Raph the hothead, Donnie the brainiac, Mikey's the party animal, and Leo is…the leader…that's it he's just… the leader. Now to the show's credit with a character that's always been just known as "the leader" doesn't describe a distinct personality for the character or allow for that many jokes, and in that sense it works fine, I just don't care for it. Good god I'm rambling now… Well since today is my birthday I'd figure I'd wait till today to spread the joy to you! I tried to send you guys cake too but it just got the screen messy… please review!**


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